Science Proves Men and Women Are Actually from the Same Planet

After conducting brain scans on 1,400 people between the ages of 13 and 85, researchers from Israel’s Tel Aviv University have concluded that there’s no such thing as a male or female brain.

For the study, which was published in the journal PNAS, researchers tried to find different sizes in particular regions of the brain like the hippocampus (involving memory) and interior frontal gyrus (related to risk aversion), and the connections between them. They found 29 regions that seem to be different sizes in people who identified as male or female.

But things got interesting when they took a look at the individual brain scans: Only zero to eight percent of people had an “all male” or “all female” brain, meaning most people have a mix of elements that are classified as both male and female in their brains.

In a nutshell: There are sex differences in our brains, but most of our brains are a combo of different “male” and “female” components. While it’s possible to have predominantly female components or predominantly male components to your brain, researchers found that most people are in the middle.

“Most people have a mix of elements that are classified as male and female in their brains.”

Scientists say this supports the idea that gender isn’t something that can be neatly classified into two camps, given that most of our brains are a mix of a bit of everything.

That might help explain why you and your guy both like Downton Abbey, dark beer, wedding planning, basketball, facial masks, and sex—none of the aforementioned are things “just for men” or “just for women.”

And as for the idea that men and women want different things out of a relationship? That probably has more to do with individuals than gender, too.